Sen. Johnson showing signs of improvement after surgery...

December 29, 2006

Sen. Johnson showing signs of improvement after surgery WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. Tim Johnson turned 60 on Thursday, two weeks after emergency surgery to repair a brain hemorrhage that has left him in critical condition. Julianne Fisher, a spokeswoman for the South Dakota Democrat, said Johnson won't be present in the first days of the new Congress next week but is continuing to improve. She said he is responsive to directions from his wife but has not yet spoken. In a statement Thursday, Johnson's doctors said he remains in intensive care at George Washington University Hospital. Census projects U.S. population at 300 million as of Jan. 1, 2007 WASHINGTON (AP) -- When the clock ticks over to midnight Sunday and 2007 arrives, the United States will have nearly 2.9 million more people than a year earlier. The Census Bureau projected Thursday that the nation's population as of Jan. 1 will be 300,888,812. That's up 2,863,990 during the year. In January, the United States is expected to register one birth every eight seconds and one death every 11 seconds, the bureau said. And, it added, migration from other countries will add one person every 27 seconds. U.S. photographer's body found on remote mountain in China SEATTLE (AP) -- A snow-covered body found on a remote mountain in China has been identified as U.S. photographer Charlie Fowler, who disappeared several weeks ago during a climbing trip with the owner of a Seattle-based adventure company, friends said Thursday. Fowler and Christine Boskoff were not roped together when they were possibly swept up by an avalanche high on the peak, as friends initially believed they would be, and so the search for Boskoff continued as snow fell Thursday. The two climbers were reported missing when they failed to return to the United States on Dec. 4. The search was initially hampered because they didn't leave details of the route they planned to climb. Edwards announces his campaign for the 2008 presidential election NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Two years older and he says wiser, too, John Edwards announced a repeat presidential campaign Thursday with new ideas that make him a very different candidate the second time around. In 2004, Edwards was the moderate southern senator who promoted middle class tax cuts and tried to position himself as the best general election alternative to President Bush. This time the 53-year-old faces a tougher fight for the Democratic nomination and has a more progressive campaign of eliminating poverty, reducing global warming and providing universal health care for all Americans. Attorney: Giving Saddam to Iraqi authorities could trigger violence BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Saddam Hussein's lawyer made a last-ditch effort to impede his execution Thursday, beseeching world leaders to prevent the United States from handing over the ousted dictator to Iraqi authorities who plan to hang him. The plea from Saddam's attorney came as the U.S. military reported the deaths of five more troops and announced that Iraqi forces, backed by American forces, captured an al-Qaida in Iraq cell leader believed responsible for the June kidnapping of two soldiers who were found tortured and killed. With at least 72 more Iraqis killed in sectarian violence, U.S. officials and Iraqis expressed concern about the potential for even worse bloodshed following Saddam's execution. The lawyer, Khalil al-Dulaimi, said transferring Saddam to Iraqi authorities could be the trigger.